


Meet Me in Tokyo

by von_bats



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Biting, Blow Jobs, Body Worship, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Grinding, Kinda?, M/M, Making Out, Mutual Pining, Smut, TenSemi Week 2017, awkward confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-20 04:06:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9475019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/von_bats/pseuds/von_bats
Summary: Both Semi and Tendou are awkward idiots in love with each other, it just takes them until the day of their high school graduation to confess their feelings. Fortunately though, they only have to part ways for the summer, before meeting up in their shared apartment in Tokyo for university!





	1. See You There

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've written for this fandom, sorry if it's not completely true to character! I haven't written anything for like 5 months or something forgive me  
> Second chapter will be set a couple months later in Tokyo and there'll be smut so look forward to that if that's your thing  
> Self beta'd so any mistakes are my own

Falling in love was never easy.

Falling in love with your _best friend_ however, well, that was even worse.

While some people may cherish the feeling of falling deeply, madly in love, being surrounded by that warm, fuzzy feeling and embracing the moment, others do their best to hide from it. Banishing thought after thought from the forefront of their mind, denying every last feeling of the L-word and focusing their mind elsewhere, because love could only bring heartache and pain. And at the delicate age of seventeen, with exams and tournaments just around the corner, that was the last thing he needed in his life.

It was volleyball that Semi Eita decided to focus on while he told himself he absolutely, definitely was. Not. In. Love.

Yep, good ol’ volleyball, the one thing no one would be suspicious of if he suddenly threw himself into 120%, it was already a huge part of his life after all. Nope, nothing could go wrong with that plan, nothing at all. All he had to do was concentrate on the matches and training and definitely _not_ on the heat that never failed to creep up the back of his neck whenever he’d catch his team mate, slash best friend, slash crush (slash _I-don’t-even-know-what-he-is-now-but-he-makes-me-want-to-rip-my-hair-out-and-maybe-kiss-him),_ watching him from across the gym, making ridiculous faces between sly grins, in an effort to crack Semi’s permanent ‘ _Satori, I swear to God if you don’t stop I’m going to deck you, I’m trying to concentrating here,_ ’ scowl.

Except of course now that Semi noticed him, he wasn’t concentrating on practice anymore. He never did have the best attention span. With his mind a mantra of _don’t think about Tendou, especially don’t think about him smiling and laughing, you’re in the middle of training Eita, get your shit together before-_

Someone gets hurt.

He never did get to finish that train of thought, nor does he get to go back to ‘concentrating’. It _would_ have been nice if he’d managed to finish it however, saving himself some inner turmoil for later, as well as a trip to the nurse’s office. Turning your back and not paying attention to your surroundings during serving practice was always ill-advised.

And it was there, while lying on the cold, hard gym floor, brown eyes staring up at the rafters, and hearing the shout of his name from his best friend over the blood thumping in his ears, that Semi Eita, third year student and member of Shiratorizawa volleyball club, had the biggest epiphany of his life.

He was desperately in love with his best friend, the beautiful, and maybe a little ludicrous, Tendou Satori.

He was so utterly fucked.

 

* * *

 

 It was during his second year in high school when Tendou realised his feelings towards Semi were anything but platonic.

He wish he could say he was surprised, that the crush he was harbouring for his best friend had come out of nowhere and utterly blindsided him, but Tendou wasn’t a liar, not to himself, nor anyone else. In fact, thinking back over the last few months, his feelings seemed to make sense, with everything finally slipping into place. Tendou was, afterall, a person of instinct and intuition. With his Guess Monster persona on the court, people often forgot just how perceptive he really was. Semi included.

It didn’t take long for Tendou to notice something was off with Semi. Sure, he could fool their other friends and teammates, but not Tendou. The pair had been best friends for well over a year, it was inevitable that he would see through Semi’s mask of blindly ignoring whatever was bothering him, and instead focusing all his energy on volleyball. But why didn’t Semi just tell him what was wrong? Confiding in each other wasn’t something new or taboo between them, hell the very first time Tendou even met Semi was while the latter was having a mild panic attack during a freak storm their first week at Shiratorizawa.

Tendou could still picture Semi’s wide eyes and anxious appearance, the younger of the two hiding crouched beneath a table in the school’s library in the middle of a black out. Tendou only managing to catch a glimpse of the teen when a large flash of lightning illuminated the room with a white glow, pale hair and fair skin, and eyes that seem to focus on everything, yet nothing at the same time. Before he could stop himself, Tendou was sitting on the floor next to the other boy, introducing himself and keeping both his and Semi’s mind off the storm until the lights came back on.

A few days later, the two were reunited in one of the school’s gyms, both wanting to join the volleyball club and hoping for the possibility that they’d bump into each other again.

Semi had been the first friend Satori had made in their first year at Shiratorizawa. Well, aside from Ushijima who he had known throughout middle school. But Semi Eita was different.

Whenever he thought back on the memory, Tendou couldn’t help but smile fondly, it was his first and one of his favourite memories of Semi.

So why, even after all that, after all the times they’d shared up until this moment, why was Semi keeping his problems to himself?

Tendou didn’t want to pry, he knew everyone had their secrets, so he gave Semi some space in hopes the other would come around, knock down Tendou’s door in the middle of the night for an impromptu sleepover, where Semi would suck up his pride and spill his guts.

But that night never came.

Instead, the more time and space he gave Semi, the more he seemed to engross himself with volleyball.In the end, just a week later, it was Tendou who went crawling back to his friend, whining a weak, ‘ _Semisemi! Let me stay over tonight!_ ’ and earning him an elbow to the ribs and a hushed, ‘ _Idiot, shut up! I’m trying to study._ ’

 

But that night, after evening practice and dinner, when Tendou showed up at Semi’s dorm clad in pyjamas with extra blankets and snacks, there was no way Semi would turn him away. Without as much as a sigh, Semi let Tendou in, watching as he shuffled through the room and almost tripping on the blanket dragging along the floor. God, even after their time apart, Semi still thought Tendou was adorable.

While Tendou splayed himself across Semi's bed, the latter grabbed his phone from his desk and sent a quick text to their friends. He needed back up, a surefire way to deter any and all subconscious - or otherwise - ogling and mild flirting.

When word got out about Semi’s spontaneous Thursday movie night extraordinaire, he soon welcomed Ushijima, along with Oohira and Yamagata into his room as well.

 

Something in Tendou’s stomach sank when his teammates arrived. It wasn’t like he didn’t _want_ to spend time with his other friends, but he had been looking forward to having Semi all to himself again, at least for one night. Sure it had only been a week of Semi avoiding him and- wait, Semi had been avoiding him?

That definitely didn’t sit right with Tendou. Screw his no prying rule, he needed to at least know what he’d done so he could apologise and they could go back to normal, whatever the hell _normal_ was in their friendship.

There was a kind of determination settling within Tendou's being. He understood he could probably never have the chance with Semi that he truly wanted, - Semi was too focused on volleyball and school to date anyone, nevermind the fact they were both guys - but he knew he couldn't let Semi go as a friend either. He needed to make things right again.

Throughout the two movies and a documentary on bees that only Ushijima Wakatoshi could convince four other teenage boys to happily watch, Tendou kept a close eye on Semi, working out his plan. In the beginning, the pair sat on opposite ends of Semi’s bed, Hayato sprawled out between them, while Reon sank comfortably into one of the two beanbags Semi had instead of a couch, Wakatoshi sat oddly perched up straight in the other. It was nice, all of them together, and any other day Tendou would have been ecstatic to spend the night with them, but not right now, not when he needed to talk to Semi.

After the first movie ended, Satori excused himself to use the bathroom, disappearing from his friends room for a few minutes. It was purely a strategic move, nothing more than to get the ball rolling with his creatively named ‘ _Make Eita My BFF Again’_ plan.

Tendou had told them not to wait for him to start the next movie and they happily obliged. He returned quietly, well as quietly as a lanky, six foot teenager possibly could and shuffled his way back to Semi’s bed. While Tendou had been gone, Hayato had stretched himself further across the bed, and Tendou couldn't help but be impressed with how well his plan was already working, his friends were so predictable.

Instead of squeezing back in beside the libero, Tendou took a seat firmly on the floor, his back lying flush with the edge of the bed, and of course, not-so-coincidentally right by Semi, his shoulder barely an inch from brushing against Semi's lean legs.

Semi raised an eyebrow in Tendou’s direction but said nothing, merely a silent question, the latter just craned his neck to the side to peer up at Semi with his own mute reply, his eyes crinkling in the corners as he smiled. In the unlit room, Tendou would miss the faint pink that tinted Semi’s cheeks.

This was the easy part, being next Semi and sitting in amiable silence among their friends. Practically basking in his company, when Semi slid his leg over that last inch separating either other. Tendou leaned into it, mind focusing on the buzzing flurry of affection that swarmed his chest at the return of their normality, this strange but comforting physical contact the two often shared subconsciously.

 

It was some time later that Semi would slip up, let himself be pulled back into Tendou’s hectic being and warm smile, and have him reconsidering the distance he put between them. There wasn’t, _couldn’t,_ be anything between them, so maybe there was nothing wrong with giving into his own guilty, inner desire and humoring Tendou in the process. Truth be told, Semi could see the effect the distance was having towards his friend. Sure, Tendou may have appeared to have been unphased to none the wiser, but every now and then, Semi caught his concerned looks, scowls and pouts that marred his face when the redhead thought no one was looking at him.

It was the guilt and remembering those expressions that had Semi snaking his hand forward and gently running slim fingers through tufts of spiked red hair.

 

If Tendou thought he was thrilled when Semi began stroking his hair, running his fingertips along his scalp in the way that only Semi knew he liked, then he must have been beyond elated when the other boy repositioned himself, leaning forward and propping his chin up with one hand, but tilting his head at an angle where it rested against the top of Tendou’s own. Dark tipped hair mixing and disappearing into an unruly and seemingly endless red below.

It couldn’t have been comfortable, not for as long as Semi stayed nestled there, but neither dared to move.

 

Semi ignored the shared looks their friends gave each other, no doubt all silently agreeing it was nice to see the two of them so easily reconciled. However their opinions didn’t matter at that moment, nothing did beyond the scent of grapefruit and mint that was Tendou’s shampoo and the contentedness he felt towards their current situation.

 

But all good things must come to an end sometime, right?

 

After their other friends excused themselves back to their own rooms, Tendou stayed behind. On the outside things might have been alright between them, but he still needed to talk to Semi, determined to get some kind of an answer.

He probably could have been smoother, asked nicer, done literally _anything_ else, but no, Tendou was always way too forward, too impertinent.

It was almost one in the morning when Tendou found out what was ‘supposedly’ bothering Semi enough to avoid him, enough to risk his health by playing and practising volleyball so recklessly.

It definitely wasn’t the response Tendou had expected when he kept pushing Semi for a reason.

 

“I love y-Yuki. I’m in love with Yuki,” Semi blurted out, quietly and expertly correcting and covering up the nearly massive slip of his tongue that could only result in misery for the both of them, putting a strain on their friendship.

 

Tendou could almost feel the weight of his friend’s words as he let them sink in. He could feel his heart sitting in his stomach and even though he’d been prepared for it, it still hurt more than he’d ever admit.

“Ah, Yuki-kun from Class 3? She’s the one who made you cookies for Valentine’s Day because you didn’t like chocolate, right? She was cute. She’ll be lucky.”

Tendou hoped he didn’t let pain cloud his voice or his expression. If that’s who Semi wanted to be with, then he’d just have to be happy for him.

Tendou didn’t overstay his welcome for much longer after that, all he really wanted now was to crawl into his own bed and forget Semi’s beet red face and the eyes that couldn’t meet his own.

 

Neither boy slept a wink that night.

Nor did they bring up why Semi never did confess to the girl he admitted he was in love with, and neither commented on it when the same girl began dating a member of the basketball club.

 

* * *

 

 It wasn’t until a year later, the afternoon of their high school graduation that the two would finally admit to all their feelings, and all the mounting inner anguish finally, _finally,_ came to an end.

Both teens realising - with maybe a little push from their friends and teammates - that their not-so-platonic-one-sided-feelings were indeed mutual. There was shock and denial from both sides, blushing and scoffing because really, ‘ _there is_ no _way he likes me what are you talking about, what do you mean he’s my friend, I don’t like him like that!’_ _  
_ But maybe that was the last hurdle they needed to face, after all, the duo had already made plans to live together in Tokyo once they started university, the lease was already signed, keys already theirs.

They needed to be brave and take this last step, it was either live together and continue pinning away with the awkwardness of knowing your best friend and roommate is in love with you, or maybe, just maybe, live together in domestic bliss.

 

* * *

 

Turning his head to look behind him, Semi could see Tendou a few rows back with the rest of Class 2, smile as bright and wide as ever, as he spoke energetically to the classmate beside him. Of course Class 3 sat behind them, and spotting Ushijima’s stocky build wasn’t hard. His captain sitting nestled between two blushing girls, oblivious to their excitement of getting the chance to sit next to the incredible ‘ _Waka-kun_ ’. Before scanning the crowd for the rest of his friends, Semi’s homeroom teacher called his name, the shrill voice startling his attention forward. Semi watched the school’s principal take the stage for the last time.

 

Their graduation ceremony went by without any dramatics or flare, and honestly it was just like any other boring Shiratorizawa third year assembly that Semi had to force himself out of bed to attend. Yet, through the entire thing, a sort of sweet melancholy crept through his mind, the oxymoron settling in and making itself at home.

This would be his last high school assembly. The last time he would sit in the school’s main amphitheater among his peers and teachers.

 

The entire team had agreed to meet for one more practice after the ceremony, one last hurrah before Ushijima relinquished his title as Shiratorizawa’s volleyball team captain, and all the third years would say goodbye and leave. Amazingly, Washijou had agreed to go _somewhat_ easy on them today, after all he was also saying goodbye to some of his star players.

 

Finding Tendou after their graduation ceremony seemed to prove harder than Semi expected, all his other friends were there and accounted for, but the middle blocker must have disappeared straight after. With a downward curl to his lips, Semi let out a shallow sigh, of course Tendou was going to make this harder for him.

“Don’t worry, we’ll see him again at practice,” Reon spoke calmly, his hand placed on Semi’s shoulder warm and comforting, encouraging him forward and not letting the setter’s plan falter.

“Yeah, we better.” Semi muttered back. He could already feel the butterflies in his stomach take flight as he and Reon walked back to the dorms to change.

 

“You can do this, Eita. You can do this,”

Semi willed himself to walk towards the gym, one anxious step at a time. He was already running late, spent far too long giving himself a ‘pre-game’ pep talk of sorts in his room, that everyone else had left without him.

He couldn’t even understand why he was so nervous, it was just Tendou for crying out loud! The same Tendou Satori who sang ridiculous songs he just made up to try and intimidate their opponents in matches. The same Tendou Satori who was all arms and legs whenever he’d break into dance at any given moment. The same boy, that at the age of sixteen, crawled under a table in the library in the middle of a power outage, and proceeded to tell Semi all about the new Weekly Shonen Jump for twenty minutes before realising that he hadn’t even introduced himself yet. The very same fiery redhead who was kind and caring, all bark but no bite, that Semi had been so crazy about for over a year.

Semi just prayed he wouldn’t be left with a heart breaking with a _crickety-crack,_ as well as an uncomfortable living situation in the fall.

Passing by the side of the gym, Semi’s steps faltered when he saw just the man he was looking for. Tendou stood with his back to the wall, watching his feet scuff against the concrete, he looked deep in thought. Semi wondered for a moment if he should turn around and leave him to his thoughts, circle around the other side of the gym, yeah, that’d give him a little more time.

Semi’s hand clenched in his white club jacket. No, he was running out of time, he needed to do this now.

“Oi, Satori. Why haven’t you changed yet?”

Tendou’s head snapped up at the sound of Semi’s voice, their eyes meeting for a moment before he looked away.

“Oh, uhm, I will in a sec! How come you’re not inside with everyone else?”

Semi walked closer until the two stood opposite each other.

“Hmm? No reason.”

 _C’mon Eita, you can do this,_ a voice reminded him.

“Well, actually…” He glanced away, a slight heat already beginning to creep up the back of his neck. “I was looking for you. I need to, uhm, talk to you.”

“Oh! Me too, Eita!” Tendou exclaimed, his earlier hesitation forgotten. He rolled his weight from heel to toe, body swaying slightly. “You go first!”

There was that smile again, wide and toothy, shining way too bright in the shade between the gym and club room.

One deep breath is all Semi took to steel himself.

As quickly as he could, Semi yanked his hand free of his jacket pocket, grabbed Tendou’s own that lay idle by his side and slipped the contents he previously had clenched in his palm for the past ten minutes, into Tendou’s grasp, all with the skill and dexterity only a settle could manage. Semi could feel his entire face rapidly heat up, hear the incessant drum of his heart booming in his ears as he waited for Tendou’s response. God, he was so mortified he couldn’t even look at his friend.

After a moment of silence that seemed to drag on forever, Tendou finally overcame his shock. “Eita, is this? Does this mean what I think it-”

“Yes,” Semi sputtered, interrupting Tendou. He just needed to get this humiliation over and done with ASAP.

“You like me,”

It wasn’t phrased as a question, and Semi could hear the smirk in Tendou’s voice.

“Obviously,” he huffed, still not looking at the middle blocker.

There was a quiet rustling of fabric, followed by a gentle _pop,_ and a moment later Tendou offered out his own hand, that was when Semi finally looked at him. The smirk that he heard on the other’s face was now replaced by a soft, genuine smile, warmth reflected in deep carmine eyes that sat atop rosy flushed cheeks _._ Semi’s eyes fell towards his outstretched hand, his eyes falling on the single pale cream button that sat in the middle of his palm, thread still left clinging to it.

Semi plucked the button from his palm, fingers lingering just longer than they should have, before withdrawing. This was exactly what Semi had hoped, and a long drawn out breath left him at the realisation.

 _Satori likes me,_ the thought repeated itself in his head a few times, not so much sinking in, but just as a new found fact. He’d been worried for nothing, anxious over nothing, embarrassed for no reason. Man, maybe Eita was a bit of an oblivious idiot.

Maybe they both were, in all honesty.

A laugh bubbled up from deep inside Semi, and almost as if it were infectious, Tendou found himself joining in, his eyes crinkling at the corners once again.

“C’mere,” Semi all but ordered, after safely pocketing his new prized possession. Tendou was still chuckling when a red faced Eita pulled him down by his tie.

Their first kiss was short and chaste, just tender enough to  convey all the feelings both had felt for each other over the past year. Semi still held Tendou by his tie, but let his free hand cup his face, thumb ever so gently brushing over the high point of his cheekbone. There was a sweetness Semi could feel himself growing addicted to as their lips brushed against each other, and when he felt Tendou’s hand rest against his waist he couldn’t help but smile against his lips.

They were both quiet for a moment when they broke apart, slowly letting the lingering feeling of the other’s lips sink in and dissipate. Semi couldn’t wait to do it again. And again. And maybe again, just for good measure of course. But he remembered Tendou had said there was something he needed to talk to him about too.

“Hey, before, what did you need to tell me?” He asked, the hand that had been resting on Tendou’s tie moved to slide down his arm towards his hand instead, Tendou welcomed his touch and interlocked their fingers without a second thought.

“Oh, that! It’s okay Semisemi, it doesn’t matter anymore!” He sang.

“What? No way, tell me!”

“It’s nothing!” Tendou smiled bright and wide again, his signature beaming expression. “I was just gonna confess to you is all, been meaning to for a while now really,” he drawled.

As if by pure habit at the first sign of teasing and annoyance, Semi punched Tendou in the arm when his words sank in.

“You have _got_ to be kidding me, Satori for fuck’s sake-”

Fortunately for Tendou, Semi’s foul language was toned out from a loud “Congratulations!”, as the rest of their team rounded the corner of the gym.

Semi jumped and turned to face the crowd. “Congrats,” a secondary address greeted them, along with a sharp _pop._

It was Shirabu who had spoken and unleashed a cloud of confetti into the air from an oversized confetti popper. Hundreds of tiny multicoloured flecks rained down over both Tendou and Semi, gathering on the crown of their heads and  shoulders, Semi was convinced he’d inhaled some out of pure shock. While the rest of the team managed to come out unscathed from the confetti shower, both boys couldn’t help but notice some of the other third years still had a few flecks on them, no doubt they themselves had gotten caught in there own multicoloured downpour.

“Awh guys!” Tendou all but shouted, his expressing beaming again as he shook the confetti from his hair like a wet dog. “You totally shouldn’t have!”

“That’s not all Tendou-senpai!” Goshiki bellowed back. The pair watched as the first year pushed his way past Shirabu - much to Semi’s enjoyment - and shoved their official game jerseys into their respective owners hands. Semi took one look at his old jersey, his familiar number 3 looking back at him, the white fabric almost entire tainted by blue and black marker. “We all signed them! See!”

Looking at the multitude of messages and signatures that covered its surface back and front, honestly choked Semi up a little, he scanned through the names, finding all of his friends, his team, club members and even coach Washijou and Saitou’s.

His eyes soon fell on an empty spot however, just above and to the left of his signature number. He glanced at Tendou’s own jersey, the same spot was blank on his too.

“Okay, this is amazing, really. But what’s with this space?” He asked, hoping he didn’t come across as rude.

Hayato and Reon shared a look, rolling their eyes in unison despite the smiles on their faces.

“We decided it would be best to leave that spot for yourself to sign. On each other’s of course. Signing your own uniform would be counterproductive.” Ushijima informed them, pulling two markers from his jacket pocket and handing them over. “Here.”

Semi took the offered markers and turned to Tendou. “Do you want to?” He asked coyly.

Tendou stole his shirt and a marker from his hands before he could even reply, “Of course!”

The way his eyes sparkled in the shade made the smile on Semi’s face lift even higher.

“Okay, turn around Eita!”

Semi did as instructed and let Tendou lean on his back while he carefully wrote his message, listening to the small hum the other let slip while the marker traced patterns over his back. When Tendou finished, he gave Semi his own jersey and did the same for him, offering his back so the other could write.

He didn’t really know what to write, this was sprung on him way too suddenly, so Semi just kept it simple, a short _‘Satori, I’ll see you in Tokyo. Eita’_ and adding a small heart by his own name, he could feel a faint heat in his cheeks again at his own  sappiness.

When he finished, Tendou straightened up and faced everyone again, lopsided smirk already on his face. Without looking away from Semi, he traded jerseys with him, and at the same time they looked at the other’s message.  

Semi hitched a small breath upon seeing Tendou’s, _‘I’ll be there Eita, I promise!’_ surrounded by a large heart that took up the entire rest of the space.

“How did you?” He said, utterly amazed.

“I am the Guess Monster, remember?” Tendou smiled down at him, Semi blushed a little harder.

Ushijima cleared his throat then, drawing their attention back to the rest of the team once again. “Tendou, I suggest you go and change now that you’re done. This will be our last practice after all.”

The atmosphere seemed to deflate slightly at his words, but Tendou nodded eagerly, “Aye aye, Captain!” He cheered, raising his hand in a salute.

A few moments later and the team was dispersing, everyone but Tendou and Semi heading back into the gym. A loud sniffle caught everyone’s attention, followed by Kawanishi’s snort of a laugh. “Goshiki, are you _crying?_ ” He called out.

There was a moment of silence, another sniffle, then a strangled, “No! I just got confetti in my eye! That’s all!” From the first year.

“Tsutomu, c’mer buddy,” Hayato’s soft voice floated around the corner as he consoled everyone’s favourite kohai.

Tendou picked up his abandoned sports bag off the ground and began to make his way to the locker room door, but before passing Semi completely, he placed a light kiss to his cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered smoothly, smiling at Semi for the millionth time.

“Just go change already. I won’t toss to you if you take to long though!” Semi warned without any real malice. He still watched as Tendou broke out into a run towards the locker room regardless.

They would both definitely miss their team, all of their fellow third years and kohai alike, but neither could ever be more grateful for the fact that even after all this, they’d still have each other.  


	2. Here Like I Promised

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is now a four chapter fic instead of two... oops? Smut will be in the last chapter btw but I'll be posting the rest of this in a couple days so please bear with us while [saruhiko_bb](http://archiveofourown.org/users/saruhiko_bb/profile) finishes beta reading!  
> You're gonna have to pry tan, punk Semi from my cold dead hands

Semi’s apartment was quaint, to say the least. A simple two bedroom unit, one bathroom and a kitchen come living area, with a small balcony that looked out over the complexes residential courtyard. Really, he felt nothing but fortunate to be living in such a comfortable location, far enough away from the city centre to avoid heavy noise pollution and astronomical rent fees, but close enough to drive or get the train in for university.

This whole ‘living by himself’ thing was both new and exciting to Semi, but still held an air of his same old routine. Sure, it was certainly different to be living in a whole new city away from home, but living in his own space just came second nature to him now, having spent three years in the Shiratorizawa dorms. He could still get up whenever he liked on weekends, leave dirty socks and whatnot lying around his room without his parents or anyone else nagging at him to clean up, hell, he could even walk around in his boxers all day, evading the summer heat if he wanted to. It was the same, but new, an oxymoron that Semi would soon get used to.

What Semi wasn’t used to however, was the constant cooking and fending for himself in that regard. There were no more home cooked meals dropped off by visiting parents, no cafeteria you could waltz into and be handed a steaming plate of curry, cooked fresh by the school’s own lunch ladies. No, Semi wasn’t used to having to cook his own meals, and after finding out the hard way about his lacking talent in that department, he usually settled on take out for dinner, or something he knew he couldn’t burn - lest he have to apologise to his landlord and neighbours about setting his floors smoke alarms off at ten o’clock at night, _again._

Though despite a few awkward run ins with his neighbours, Semi truly did love his little apartment. It was almost perfect. Almost.

Whenever he’d pass by on the way to or from his bedroom, Semi couldn’t help but glance into the open door of the bedroom next to his, and seeing the few boxes piled up by an undressed bed, he’d let out a quiet, some may even say _longing,_ sigh.

The apartment was way too quiet.

As if the home lacked a soul, Semi found the place barren of light and warmth, despite the blinding sun that would seep through his blinds and wake him in the morning, or the summer heat that would envelope him when relaxing on the balcony. He thought it was something that would slowly fade, maybe after a few weeks, but Semi had moved in over a month ago and he still felt no different. Both the apartment, and Semi’s heart were lost without that familiar fiery spark.

He missed Tendou.

 

* * *

 

 It had been two months since the pair had last seen each other. It was always the plan for Semi to move to Tokyo before Tendou, who would then later join him after a summer long cross-Europe trip with his family. A final graduation gift and celebratory vacation for the whole Tendou family to enjoy. Semi found it sweet how close-knit Satori’s family were compared to his own. Being the only child of parents in the business and judiciary world left much to be desired, and so Shiratorizawa’s boarding school esque lifestyle suited the Semi family just fine.

The Tendou’s however, not so much. Over their three years together, Semi had spent quite a bit of time with the Tendous, what with his friend’s parents always showing up to matches with Satori’s younger twin sisters, and cheering the team on wildly. It was as if Satori were the centre point of their family, their world revolved around their eldest son, he was utterly adored by his sisters and parents alike. After the first time meeting his family, Semi quickly noticed that Tendou was just like his parents, from personalities to appearances, he had his mother’s hair and eye colour, but definitely his father’s strong jaw and nose.

Tendou’s family was just as fond of Semi as he was of them, always excitedly greeting him after a match, inviting him to family weekend dinners or lunches, sometimes even sending Satori an extra care package just for Semi, during peak volleyball season when their son couldn’t visit them as often. Tendou had told Semi that his parents were beyond delighted to hear of their university plans, living and attending college together.

Semi felt as if he were their second son, and honestly, he loved it.

So it was no surprise when the offer to travel Europe with the whole Tendou family was extended to Semi, and he’d be lying if he said accepting the offer hadn’t crossed his mind, but instead he politely declined. Tendou had been disappointed of course, but he understood Semi’s reasoning behind it. The trip was his parent’s way of saying goodbye, of seeing their son off into his new life as a college student. Satori would no longer be just an hour away from their family home, instead, the eldest Tendou child had decided to move four hours away and could only visit during holidays or long weekends. Semi wasn’t too sure if Satori’s parents were ready for that yet.

Still, two long months had dragged by without Tendou in Semi’s life. While it was indeed quieter, it was just as lonely. Semi hadn’t even been able to keep in regular contact with his friend - _boyfriend?_ \- during their separation. Of course he knew it wasn’t Tendou purposely abandoning him, every now and then a new notification would pop up on Semi’s phone from none other than Tendou, with just quick details and greetings from whichever big city he was in now. With colossal WiFi and data charges, Semi could only assume that he was leeching off of some unknowing business’ free WiFi for the moment he had to spare.

Semi savoured those moments, even if they happened to be at two in the morning and he needed to wake up early for his part time job. But hey, time differences, what can you do?

Semi could still remember the last time he saw Tendou, the moment ingrained into his mind.

 

Half an hour. Thirty single minutes, that seemed to slip by far too fast for either graduate’s liking, that's all they had together.

After the third years final practice, all they had left to do within the school was to clear the last of their things from their dorm rooms. Small things left over from their last remaining night in their own space, all shoved into cardboard boxes and ready to be taken with them when they finally, truly left.

The pair rushed through packing after having said a final goodbye to their friends, embraced each of them with watery eyes and promises to keep in touch, and even when Tendou joined Semi on the latter's naked bed a short while later, they too felt their emotions swell.

_‘It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later.’_

The words had been whispered in the empty room, with hands cupping the other’s face and foreheads leaning heavily together, desperately trying to savour the moment of companionable solidarity after their confession, but time was falling away like sand in an hourglass.

Without much left to say, they found themselves falling back into their earlier rhythm from outside the gym, slow and sweet, and filled with unhindered feelings and sentiment towards the other.

The brush of Tendou’s lips against his own felt so natural to Semi, almost as though they had been doing this for years, _eons_ even, but every new lingering touch left him excited and content, eager. With intent, Semi shuffled closer, resting his leg against Tendou’s own, hands sliding from the other’s face to wrap around the back of his neck. One hand cupped the base of his hairline, fingers tangled in the wispy red hair there, as he kissed Tendou harder. Tendou could only reciprocate, kissing back with just as much pressure, before experimentally letting the tip of his tongue run a lazy swipe across Semi’s bottom lip. To his surprise, there was no hesitation in Semi’s reaction, the other opening his mouth invitingly and meeting Tendou’s tongue with keen interest.

Semi held Tendou closer with the help of his grip on the other’s neck, and he hoped he was doing this right - he wasn’t exactly experienced in this department, and he doubted Tendou was either - as he ran his tongue over Tendou’s own. He savoured the sweet, barely there moan that rumbled in the other’s throat, his own breath catching slightly at the feeling of hands gripping him tighter.

Breaking apart some time later, Semi couldn’t help it as his teeth grazed Tendou’s lip, biting it gently as he didn’t want their kiss to end. Catching their breath appeared to be harder than it should have been, the atmosphere in the room heavy, intense with awareness of their mutual excitement and ardor. Heavy lidded eyes stared back at Semi and he was sure his own were just the same.

Tendou whispered his name through kissed red lips, a breathy, “Eita…” before Semi was throwing powerful thighs over Tendou’s hips, straddling and attacking his mouth with enough force to knock the middle blocker over, his back hitting the mattress with a soft thump. Semi gripped at the soft tendrils of red hair, mouth working against Tendou’s in even passion and affection, kissing his lips swollen. He could feel Tendou’s sharp intake of breath when Semi rolled his hips unintentionally against the other’s, his entire being heating from the core at the feeling of the growing hardness between them.

But as quick as it had come, Tendou was pulling back from the kiss with Semi chasing it.

“Mmh,” _kiss._ “Hmmf,” _kiss_ . “Mmmhf, Eita!” _Kiss._

It wasn’t until Tendou’s hands found Semi’s shoulders and added pressure there, that Semi snapped from his lust filled desperation. With burning realisation and mortification, Semi sat up, his face turning as scarlet as the boy’s hair beneath him.

“Oh God, I’m sorry- I should, I should have asked if that was alright- but you didn’t try and stop me so I just-”

Tendou sat up too, wrapping his arms around the babbling form in his lap, interrupting him with a breathless chuckle.

“It’s okay! Really, Semi! Actually… it was more than just okay, it was…” Tendou trailed off, hiding his face in Semi’s shirt for a second before continuing. “But your phone is ringing, mine too.”

He was right Semi noted, a few feet down his bed lay both of their abandoned phones, vibrating together as the screens shone bright, indicating the incoming call.

And just like that, their time together was up. Soon the pair found themselves carrying moving boxes to meet their waiting parents, walking too close together down the hallway with matching expressions that spoke of nothing but dread.

_“It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later.”_

 

* * *

 

Accosted by the endless blue and aesthetic bullshit of his dashboard, Semi sighed and switched tabs to check one of his other social media sites. Behind him on the open terrace lay a cat stretched out in the soon to be setting sun, round and fat and with loyalties to no man, the apartment complex’s resident stray that everyone fed and welcomed into their homes. _Pudge,_ Semi soon learned from his next door neighbour. A low murmur from the TV echoed in the otherwise empty space.

Semi Eita was _not_ moping. No, definitely not. He was just bored, that’s all. Honestly. Just killing time on his laptop after his shift at his part time job before he inevitably decided to order take out. Today was just a long and lazy Monday, with nothing out of the ordinary to disturb him.

Until a sharp knock came from the apartment’s front door, that is.

At the interruption of his clearly busy evening, Semi eyed the cat a few feet away, Pudge blinked open a single eye to regard him, but otherwise didn’t move. Semi shrugged and got to his feet, sure, he might get a tad lonely in the quiet house sometimes, but he wasn’t going to sink so low as to to talk to the cat, _of course not_. Not while the terrace door was open anyway.

Stalking to the door, Semi tried to wrack his brain of thoughts if he had been expecting anyone, but nothing came to mind. He assumed it must have just been a neighbour as he stretched up to look through the peep hole in the door. The figure was distorted through the fisheye glass, and indistinguishable by the two cardboard boxes perched atop each other in the visitor’s arms. Ruling out a neighbour, Semi could only presume it was the Tendou family’s housekeeper, the middle aged woman having dropped by a few times over the course of his residency to drop off some of Tendou’s things in preparation of his eventual move.

“Good evening, Korekuni-san, please come in. Here, let me help you with that.” Semi greeted, as polite as his parents always taught him to be.

Before Semi even had the chance to step away from the door and take the top most box from the woman, he was greeted back by a loud, bubbly voice.

“Semisemi! It’s me!”

Tendou’s head popped around the side of the box that had been covering his face. With his head tilted at the odd angle, Semi could immediately see the recognisable scarlet of Tendou’s hair, and the familiar bright and warm smile that would always crinkle at the corners of his eyes.

Semi’s hand fell from it’s grip on the doorframe. “Holy shit…” He spoke in a incredulous whisper.

Wordlessly, Semi retreated from the door, allowing Tendou into the apartment - _their_ apartment - without even taking a box. His mind was running a mile a minute. Part of Semi decided he must have fallen asleep on the couch, this couldn’t be reality, Tendou wasn’t due back in Japan, let alone Tokyo for at least another two weeks. In Semi’s speechless stupor, Tendou carefully made his way through the apartment’s entryway, unceremoniously dumping his boxed belonging onto the floor with a loud thud, immediately hoping their downstairs neighbours wouldn’t complain at the nose.

Hearing the click of the front door closing, Tendou turned back to Semi, only to see the other eyeing him.

In Semi’s defense, he was only taking in the other’s appearance.

He still looked like the Tendou Satori that Semi knew and loved, but different at the same time. Tendou had all the telltale signs of having been away for the summer. His usual pale complexion, while still pale, had a slight bronze glow to it, spatterings of freckles danced over what could be seen of his arms and the bridge of his nose, but what drew Semi in was Tendou’s hair. The endless red bleached brighter by copious amounts of the sun’s rays that had been shining down on him, and loosened of his customary mountain of spikes, casual but still so utterly _Tendou_. It was still a far cry from being fully down and deflated, and truthfully, Semi had only seen him with his hair down a handful of times. But the usual intense spikes hung low and lazy on his head, a part of the front section lying haphazardly to one side, almost gentle like a quiff, with the hair following the natural curl Tendou repeatedly straightened out. Semi was reaching out to brush his fingertips against it before he realised, and pulled his hand back and just _looked._

“Still looking as uncool as ever I see, Eita,” Tendou broke the awkward silence forming between them.

With a indignant squawk, Semi huffed and glared down at his outfit, and then back up to Tendou.

“I’m literally just wearing jeans and a t-shirt? What’s wrong with that?”

“They’re just so,” Tendou drawled. “Dark. Jeez Eita, wear a bit of colour sometime why don’tcha!”

Semi just rolled his eyes. He was perfectly happy in his faded black wash jeans, thank you very much. Plus, his shirt was grey, grey was _definitely_ a colour. Didn’t Tendou remember anything from colour theory in art class? Apparently not.

“Whatever,” he muttered under his breath. “Anyway, c’mon, let me show you around.”

When Semi skirted around Tendou, attempting to wander further into the apartment, he was surprised when long, lean arms wrapped around his shoulders, drawing him back against a sturdy chest.

“You don’t seem too happy to see me, Eita. Am I wrong?”

The smallest note of hurt in Tendou’s voice stung Semi’s chest, that alone was enough to have him wriggling in Tendou’s grasp. Turning in his arms, Semi hid his face in the crook of the other’s neck, elongating a sigh as the familiar warmth and scent invaded his thoughts.

“Course ’m happy to see you, idiot, ‘m just surprised is all.” He mumbled into the fabric of Tendou’s hoodie.

“I’m glad.” He heard whispered above him.

For a long moment they simply stayed embracing each other, nothing but the sound of their slow, even breathing between them. After a beat, Semi pulled away, “C’mon,” he repeated, dragging Tendou further into their apartment by the hand, his own eyes beginning to crinkle at the edges with the force of his smile.

Tendou was finally home.

 

* * *

 

The so called ‘tour’ had only last for a few minutes, really, it could only took so much time to show off five rooms and their storage spaces. Despite it’s quaint nature, Tendou admitted the apartment definitely looked a little bigger in the photos of the online listing Semi had found.

But with the formalities now out of the way, and hot cups of tea in their hands, Tendou and Semi curled into respective corners of the living room couch, legs splayed out and overlapping, both casual and intimate, and so very _them_.

Of course, their version of catching up was more Tendou harping on and on about his European adventures. Not that Semi minded in the slightest, on the contrary, Semi sunk further into the couch, getting comfortable and listening to every word that came from the other’s mouth. Every tale, every little anecdote, he wanted to hear them all. Watching every expression dance over Tendou’s face, his limbs flailing with over exaggerated stories, from his father forcing him to try ‘ _eggs-car-go_ ’ in Paris, to the time his twin sisters nearly toppled over each other and into the river outside their B&B in Venice.

God, Semi missed listening to Tendou talk. Missed how animated he could be. Missed his voice. Just missed _him._

“You would have loved Barcelona, Semisemi!” Tendou exclaimed, just like he had done about every other city he’d mentioned. “The beaches are nothing like what we have over here! And the volleyball! Man, do they love volleyball there. But beach volleyball is really different! Harder too! Sand just goes flying everywhere.”

“Did you play?” Semi managed to ask, eyes glancing over the rim of his mug to see Tendou smile even harder at him.

“You bet I did! I mean, my Spanish was awful, but even with the language barrier it was still great. The guys I played with must have been on a team, they were so good! Not better than us or Wakatoshi, of course, though they would have been fun to play an official match against with the old team.” Tendou was quiet for a short moment, remembering all the good times with his old teammates, but as quick as his nostalgia had come, it disappeared and he moved on.

Semi watched as Tendou’s eyes lit up from across the couch, “They really liked my blocking though! They were definitely impressed.”

“Of course they were,” Semi’s own smile rose higher. “You’re one of the best middle blockers I know.”

Hearing the story made pride swell in his chest. Knowing that after all of Tendou’s insecurities about volleyball, about never fitting into a team before Shiratorizawa, it delighted him to know that others - complete strangers - could see Tendou’s potential and talent, and had accepted him on their team. It didn’t matter if it was only a few casual games of beach volleyball while on his vacation.

 

Apparently Switzerland had been Tendou’s favourite country to visit, a mixture of the scenery and landscapes he found different, relaxing even, and the local food.

“I would have brought you back chocolates, but I know you don’t like them.” Tendou said almostly shyly.

Semi chuckled, it was rare to see Tendou act so sheepish. Maybe it was time to let him in on the secret. “You know,” he started. “I only ever said I didn’t like chocolate to deter girls from giving them to me on Valentine’s Day. It would have been too much of a hassle otherwise.” A pause, to let his words settle over the other, “Though I do prefer dark to milk chocolate.”

Tendou starred for a moment before promptly picking his jaw back up. “You never cease to surprise me, Eita.” He said in singsong. “I’ll share mine with you then, but I do hope you’ll like your other presents!”

“Other presents...? You didn’t have to get me anything!”

“I know, but I wanted to. I got you something from every country we visited actually!”

Semi could only look at Tendou in shock. After a beat, he schooled his features into a blank expression.

“Tell me you’re joking, Satori.”

“ _‘I’m… joking?’_ ”

“Oh my god,” Semi took a deep breath, suddenly feeling an odd mix of exasperation and gratitude wash over his being. “Satori, you visited over _twenty_ countries, right?”

“Yes?”

“You bought me over _twenty_ gifts?”

“Yeah? Really Eita, I don’t see what you’re getting at.”

Semi scrubbed a hand over his face and hair, he opened his mouth to reply, but Tendou beat him to it.

“Is it so wrong that I wanted to bring my boyfriend home souvenirs from my vacation? My vacation where I didn’t get to see or speak to him for _two_ whole months?”

(Well, that definitely answered Semi’s earlier question. Boyfriend. _Boyfriend_. Yeah, that sounded nice.)

He sputtered, but was evidently thrown for a loop. He could feel the heat pooling in his cheeks, so he quickly surrendered, turning his face away from Tendou and muttered a quiet, “Okay, fine.”

“Speaking of… Can I give you one of your gifts now?

“I suppose so, if you want to, I mean.”

“No, I want to! It’s kinda your main gift, so I’m really excited to see your face! Stay here. Oh, and close your eyes!”

With that, Tendou bolted from the couch and towards the apartment’s entryway, leaving Semi to wonder what ‘main gift’ meant. Honestly speaking, when it came to Tendou and things of this nature, one could never be too sure. After a great deal of rustling from the hallway, - where it sounded like Tendou was wrestling something from one of his moving boxes - Semi could hear Tendou shuffle back into the room.

Semi felt the couch dip from the weight of the other sitting back down, and then a weight dropped into his lap. After Tendou permitted him to open his eyes again, Semi found a large black box in his grasp. A shoe box on closer inspection.

“You got me shoes?” he asked surprised, but definitely curious.

“Just open it!” Tendou was practically vibrating with excitement, his eyes glued to Semi, who skeptically inspected the box.

When he lifted the lid carefully, Semi was immediately met with tissue paper that sat on top, covering whatever lay beneath. He looked to Tendou again, getting an encouraging nod to continue before peeling away the paper.

“Holy shit.” He whispered, eyes not leaving the sight before him.

Sat in Semi’s lap lay a pair of thick black boots, the smell of genuine leather already drifting to his nose. He ran a careful finger along the wide rubber sole that would no doubt give him an extra inch in height. His finger skirted over a small piece of inlaid metal that held no function beyond pure aesthetic. He was in awe.

“Pretty cool, right?” He heard Tendou ask beside him. “I got them in Germany! You’d definitely like Germany, ‘alotta people with bad fashion sense dressed just like you there!” he laughed. “Though maybe they looked a little better, I’m not sure, but most of them had boots like these! And I don’t know, I thought you’d like them since you like these kinds of things, right? And you always wore those ratty old scuffed combat boots and I _know_ you still do, I totally saw them in the entryway, and God, Eita c’mon, you gotta say something, I’m dying here so-”

Semi cut Tendou off mid sentence, stretching out and wrapping his arms around the other’s neck in a tight squeeze.

“Holy shit, Satori,” he repeated. “These are amazing! I love them, thank you! Seriously, thank you!” He held his boyfriend tight for another moment before breaking away. “Can I try them on?”

“Go ahead.” Tendou urged.

Dumping the box unceremoniously into Tendou’s lap, Semi raced to try the boots on. He found that unlike his usual ‘ratty’ and ‘scuffed’ boots, these ones had a side zipper, making things not only quicker, but more convenient. His feet slipped in easily, and with the zippers done and laces tied securely, Semi stood up to test them out, taking a few steps away from the couch but ultimately turning back to Tendou.

“Holy shi-”

“Really Eita, we’re going to have to teach you some new vocabulary.” Tendou teased, Semi just rolled his eyes.

“They fit perfectly! And they’re so comfortable, seriously, how can boots be this comfortable?”

“They look good on you. Woah, Eita, you almost look cool!”

Semi would probably punch him if he weren’t so enamoured with his new boots, and thankful to Tendou for buying them for him, of course. Instead, Semi pulled the other up from the couch and into an embrace again, almost nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

“Thank you, Satori.”

Tendou kissed Semi on the forehead, his arms wrapping around the shorter - even with the boots on - man’s middle.

“You’re welcome.”

Tendou couldn’t help burrowing his nose into the other’s pale hair. It had been far too long.

 

* * *

 

An hour or so later and Semi was still wearing his new boots, breaking the traditional custom of no shoes inside the house, but it was fine, right? He hadn’t worn them outside yet, and they were just _so_ comfortable after all.

“How did you know what size to get?” He’d asked Tendou. “No wait, don’t tell me. You guessed?”

Even Tendou had to laugh, “Eita, we’ve been best friends for three years, I don’t need to guess to know your shoe size.”

His honest answer had Semi muttering and blushing again, residing himself to getting used to life like this, he was living with his boyfriend who perpetually teased him after all.

 

“Hey, what do you want to do about dinner by the way? It’s starting to get late.” Semi wondered aloud. The two had spent most of the early evening catching up, with the latter half beginning to organise Tendou’s bedroom. “I was just gonna get take out, before your sorry ass turned up on my doorstep anyway.”

A hand flew to Tendou’s chest in faux offence and hurt. “How could you Eita! After all I did for you!” Was all he could get out before laughing and continuing, “Well firstly, I turned up on _our_ doorstep. Don’t forget, you _voluntarily_ decided you wanted to live with me.” He swung a long around around Semi’s waist, pulling him to his side and kissing his left temple. “And secondly, I’m just going to ignore what you said about my ass because we both know you’re wrong.” Semi snorted indignantly in his grasp. “But take out sounds good! Have you had a chance to scope out what’s the best locally yet?”

_If only he knew._

“Ah, not really,” white lies were fine right? “But there’s a good Chinese place a couple blocks away? We’ll have to walk there though, they only deliver on weekends.”

Tendou arched an eyebrow, an obvious _‘how do you know they only deliver on the weekend?’_ but neither commented on it. “Sure, sounds good to me.” He replied easily instead.

“‘Kay, just let me grab a jacket and my wallet.”

Reluctantly, Tendou let Semi wriggle out of his hold and wander into his own room.

 

A few moments later, Semi joined Tendou in their entryway, grabbing his keys from the dish on the sideboard.

“Ready to go?”

“You know, if you wear those boots outside you’re gonna have to  take them off when we get back.” Tendou baited.

“I know that!” Came Semi’s stammered reply, a scowl already setting into his brows at his boyfriend’s teasing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those curious, yes Tendou bought Semi a pair of New Rocks, he's an A+ boyfriend and wanted to spoil his love with a pair of awesome and expensive boots! He bought him [these ones btw](https://www.newrockonline.com/en/footwear/reactor/m-563-s1-high-boots-reactor.html)  
> 


	3. Midnight Prelude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twilight, food comas and preludes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short update before we get to the Good Stuff™ which is like 7.5k long so be patient for a little longer my friends! Last chapter will be up either Sunday or Monday!

The late summer night’s air was cool as Semi led Tendou back towards their apartment, the sun already setting in the distance had long since dipped behind the high rise apartment complexes and other buildings. Soon streetlamps would turn on overhead and illuminate their neighbourhood with a serene peacefulness.

Tendou always loved this time of night. Everything was so much more beautiful. Semi however, was always beautiful. Perpetually beautiful, Tendou would argue as if it were a fact of life, and seeing his boyfriend in the midst of twilight only warranted his thoughts further. He’d noticed it earlier, when he’d first gotten to see his Eita again after weeks, _months_ even _,_ that he was different. Not in a bad way, of course, never in a bad way, but it surprised Tendou nonetheless. He’d known Semi for years, thought he had every little detail memorised, ingrained into his thoughts, but here he was, looking at the same boy he’d officially met underneath a table all those years ago.

It was just small things, like the usual dark tips of his hair that seemed more faded than Tendou had seen in months. But his hair just looked a little longer in general too, his once everyday bedhead appeared to be more tame, at least in a more ‘organised mess’ kind of way. And while Tendou always teased and riled Semi up for his bad and uncool fashion sense, those were far from his true feelings.

Not that he’d ever admit to it, but Semi was definitely one of the coolest people Tendou knew, and while their taste in clothing and style may have been different, he adored Semi’s. Had always admired Semi’s punk attitude and badassery when it came to breaking their old high school’s uniform and ‘no dyed hair’ policy. Semi was a force to be reckoned with if his aesthetic was threatened, Tendou still remembered the swift jab to his ribs one day, when he once described Semi as being a ‘slave to aesthetic’ to the rest of their team.

Not that Tendou really understood what the other’s ‘aesthetic’ was to begin with, he just knew Semi looked amazing no matter what, though he was certainly partial to the tight, dark jean Semi usually wore, the kind that hugged his legs perfectly and left very little to the imagination. Admittedly, Tendou was also fond of the monochromatic nature of Semi’s wardrobe, something about it bringing out the amber flecks in his dark eyes.

Man, since when was he such a romantic?

 

When Semi shifted the plastic bag containing their food to his opposite hand, he found the negative space soon occupied by Tendou’s own, the latter having grasped it, interlocking their fingers easily.

They were both still new at this, and with a lot of time to make up for.

 

Tendou kissed Semi under the archway that led to their complex’s courtyard, - when Semi had turned to him to point out which balcony was their own - gentle and chaste. Tendou would refuse to take the blame for the bruising kiss that subsequently had Semi’s back pinned to the next wall they passed. They were almost acting just like horny teenagers.

_Oh, wait…_

 

It had taken some coaxing, but the pair finally made it back to their new home, rapidly cooling Chinese food and slightly breathless as it may be.

It had been Tendou’s own stomach that had betrayed him, with his body pinned to the entryway sideboard by Semi’s hips, take out abandoned somewhere on the floor, and his lips more than just a little preoccupied, the steamy atmosphere was suddenly shattered by a deep growl. Thankfully Semi only laughed, light and saccharine, and reached up to place one last lingering kiss to his boyfriend’s lips, before retrieving their dinner and dragging a slightly embarrassed Tendou towards their kitchen.

Yep, food was definitely a good idea right now. And water. _Lots_ of water. 

 

 

Okay, so maybe getting take out while they were hungry was a bad idea, but then again, maybe the copious amounts of leftovers wasn’t too bad either, all Semi knew was that he couldn’t even think about taking another bite. He was almost sure he’d never been this full in his life. _This_ was what regret felt like. 

Tendou - just as stuffed, but at least he wasn’t complaining like a certain someone - had to practically tug Semi towards their sofa, settling down with his legs splayed out along its length. Once comfortable, he reached for the TV remote, and began flicking through channels. “Let’s just relax and watch a movie until you can function again, yeah?” he suggested.

Semi’s response was nothing more than a groan, making himself comfortable and at home between Tendou’s legs nonetheless, and laying his back against the other’s firm chest.

“Okay, but we’re not watching a horror movie. I’d rather avoid getting indigestion from all the jumpscares, thank you very much.” He said after a beat.

In the end, they settled on the first film they came across, some animated feature that had released the previous year.

Not even ten minutes in and Semi’s consciousness was already beginning to waver. The sound of Tendou’s heart beating slowly from where Semi’s face lay against his chest, the comforting, familiar scent of his boyfriend that he had missed so much, and the ever present motion of the hand that stroked over his hair, gently luring Semi into an undeniable slumber.

_Just for a bit. Just for a little while,_ Semi told himself. It had been a long day, one that had admittedly gotten infinitely better with Tendou’s return, but even still, a short nap wouldn’t hurt anyone, right?

In the next moment, brown eyes disappeared underneath heavy lids, and a quiet, soft sigh of content escaped Semi’s mouth. 

* * *

“...ta? ...Eita? C’mon, it’s time to wake up.”

Semi cracked a bleary eye open, then a second, trying to adjust to the dark room. “Hey,” he croaked out, voice thick from disuse.

“Hey yourself, Sleeping Beauty.” There was a playful lilt to Tendou’s voice.

Turning his face into the other’s chest, Semi groaned at the affectionate nickname, before asking, “how long was I asleep?”

“A little over three and a half hours I think.”

Tendou let Semi burrow into his hoodie even more at his words.

“I can’t believe you let me sleep for that long.”

“I didn’t wanna wake you though. You looked way too cute, Semisemi.”

If Semi was nudging his face even further into the other’s chest to hide his blush, well, neither decided to comment on it at that moment.

“You wanna go to bed for real? It’ll be midnight soon.” Tendou informed him.

Semi thought about it for only a moment, retreating from Tendou’s chest, and meeting his gaze. “No. I want to stay up with you a bit longer.”

A smile pulled high on Tendou’s lips, and he ran a hand down the length of Semi’s back reassuringly. “I’ll still be here in the morning, Eita. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Yeah, I know. Not like I thought you were, or anything.” He grumbled.

“Oh yeah? Then what?”

“It’s nothing.” Came his gruff reply.

Silence, and then, “Are you sure it’s not for this?”

Tendou ducked low on the couch, back arching forward uncomfortably, to place a lingering kiss to Semi’s lips. Semi reciprocated almost instantly, his lips brushing Tendou’s delicately.

“Maybe,” he said after a beat. “I think I need another one, just to make my mind up, of course.” He was acting coy, trying to rile Tendou up ever so slightly, all the while brushing his hands over the other’s chest wickedly.

“Of course.” Tendou mirrored back. When his lips met the other’s again, it was more fervid, each kiss reciprocated back with more force than initially. They’d played this game a few times, and not even for the first time that night, but even now, with each slide of their lips, every sweet kittenlick, it had felt more and more desperate.

With a little bit of awkward maneuvering, Tendou soon had Semi with his back flat against the sofa, one knee pressed firmly between his thighs, and hands groping for purchase in pale, ashy hair, caging him in. Semi tilted his head, slotting their mouths together more firmly as he ran his tongue against Tendou’s, warm and slick, and leaving him breathless. His own hands grabbed at the back of the other’s hoodie, pushing him down until he could feel the ardent press of their chests against each other. Tendou explored his mouth thoroughly, tongue lapping at his own intently and committing every little hiccuped breath and moan that escaped Semi’s throat to memory .

When Semi’s cool hands slipped under the hem of his hoodie and beneath his t-shirt, Tendou couldn’t help the noises that left his mouth either, far too gone from feeling the slide of cool fingertips over his slowly heating skin. There was a sharp nip to Tendou's lower lip when he pulled away to catch his breath, forgetting to breathe with how enamoured he felt above his boyfriend.

Semi raked his hands up the other's back, dragging the fabric of his t-shirt and hoodie higher on his torso. “Off.” He demanded, voice sultry and muffled against Tendou's jaw, where he kept his lips moving slow and steady over the pale skin.

Tendou complied easily, sitting up and pulling the offending items of clothing over his head in one fell swoop, letting them land unceremoniously on the floor beside the couch.

“You too,” Tendou began to say, but Semi was already a step ahead, discarding his t-shirt and quickly attaching his lips back to the sensitive skin below the other's ear. An excited shiver ran to the base of Tendou's spine, a mixture of the hot, wet pressure of tongue and teeth working over his neck, and the feeling of Semi's chest, ever so slightly broader than his own, pressed flush against him. With what felt like a natural, practiced ease, Tendou's hands found Semi's hips, palms brushing against the sharp jut of strong hip bones, and clamping down at a particularly hard bite to his neck.

“ _Fuck…_ ” Tendou hissed out a breath, sounding both pleasured and pained. He couldn't help the roll of his hips as he bucked forward, enlightening the man below him to the growing hardness in his pants. A soft sound leaked from Semi's lips at the friction, his own tight jeans now feeling more than a little suffocating. His nails began to dig into the other's shoulder blades at the shallow breathing and intense open mouthed kiss Tendou sought him out for, his nails leaving faint crescent indents in their wake.  

As Tendou lapped at his mouth, Semi rolled his hips to meet the slim pair above him, his breath becoming more ragged with every achingly slow undulation. Semi’s hands roamed lower along his boyfriend's back until he could cup his ass, kneading the flesh beneath rough denim. Tendou's hips stuttered when Semi dragged him forward by the grip on his ass. One long, smooth rut of their hips grinding their erections together beneath painfully tight pants. Tendou broke from their kiss with a heavy, gasping moan, the sound coming out like the most beautiful music to Semi’s ears. This still felt surreal to him, he never would have imagined he'd be able to hear, let alone be the one to pull these sweet sounds from his best friend.

Another powerful roll of his hips and they were both swearing under their breath, eyes trained on the other's and shallow pants lingering in the air.

“Are we really doing this?”

“God, I want to. I _really_ want to.” Tendou’s voice sounded insatiable, longing, utterly betraying him with how breathless he already felt.

“Me too.” Another slow thrust of their hips, another moan. “It's not too rushed, right?”

“I've been without you for two months,” Tendou bowed his head to kiss up Semi’s neck. “Waited to see you everyday, _wanted_ to see you everyday.” His words rushed out, mumbled into the soft tawny skin beneath his lips. “You have no idea how many times I've thought about this, Eita. Thought about _you_.”

Semi laughed that sweet saccharine sound that Tendou adored, “I think I have a pretty decent idea.” He sat up, gesturing for them to move off the couch. “Come on, we're not doing this here. Not yet, anyway.”

The hand that found Tendou’s was the only reassuring he needed, slim fingers laced with his own as Semi led them towards his bedroom without hesitation. Their hearts beating a mile a minute, goosebumps from anticipation and excitement running the length of their arms and down the back of their necks. Tendou could still feel the tremble of the other’s hand in his own. They were both nervous, but the thought to stop, to slow down, didn’t even cross their minds.


	4. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> like 80% of this is smut, the rest is more domestic fluff tbh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this pairing desperately needs more smut in the tag, so here, have this
> 
> as always thank you to the amazing [saruhiko_bb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saruhiko_bb) for putting up with my constant fandom rambling and for being the best beta ❤

Once inside Semi’s room, Tendou gently backed Semi up against the bed until his legs lay flush against it. Cupping his cheeks, he placed a calming kiss to his boyfriend’s forehead, before pulling back and meeting his eyes. “Don’t be nervous.” Was all he said before kissing Semi’s lips once again, chaste and reassuring, and beginning a slow descent of open mouthed kisses that trailed down his body. 

Tendou took his time, mouth mapping out the planes of flesh he’d seen hundreds of times, but never had a chance - never had the  _ right _ \- to touch. Every inch of skin softer and smoother than the last, but with collar bones sharp enough to cut glass, so prominent and sexy that Tendou wanted to bite and lick at them for hours. If only to drive Semi crazy. At a shallow breath from above, he moved lower, trailing his hands down the front of Semi’s chest, fingers grazing over the hardening peaks of his nipples as his mouth dragged down the length of the hollow between his pectorals. 

Semi sucked in a breath to keep from moaning as fingers brushed against his nipples a second time. When Tendou rolled each one between a finger and thumb however, he couldn’t do anything  _ but  _ moan, the moment only intensifying at the hungry look on the other’s face. 

The teasing kisses moved lower still, Tendou having to kneel on the floor in front of Semi, as kisses and fingertips laced over his abs and hipbones. Without hesitating, Tendou ran his hands down the length of Semi’s legs, catching on his feet and slowly pulling the other’s socks off, before letting them roam their way back up. He nuzzled his nose beneath Semi’s navel, deft fingers resting by the button of his jeans. Deep carmine eyes stared up at Semi’s face, waiting patiently for permission to go further. Semi let out a shuddering breath, but nodded his head as consent and encouragement, his hand coming to Tendou’s face to brush away some of the fallen hair that marred his beautiful features. 

The sound of Semi’s pant’s button and zipper being undone almost echoed off the bedroom walls in the silence, and as Tendou kept his eyes trained to the coffee coloured pair above him, watching intently, he eased both Semi’s jeans and boxer briefs down his legs. Once he peeled the layers away, Tendou watched the slow bob of Semi’s Adam’s apple, the way his tongue ran out to wet his lower lip before ultimately catching it between his teeth. It was then that he took in the whole state of his boyfriend; pupils blown and eyes just a second away from glazing over with passion and pure need, the heavy flush across his tan skin, from hairline down the length of his chest, his cock already hard and flushed red, precome beginning to bead at the tip. 

Semi knew what was coming, but before he could even mentally prepare himself, Tendou had darted forward, warm tongue running over the tip of his cock. At the first feeling of slick heat against his already burning flesh, a low gasp ripped it’s way from Semi’s lungs, hands bracing himself against the other’s shoulders to ground himself. Tendou had been slow with his teasing, running his tongue flat along the underside of his length, leaving sloppy open mouthed kisses in his wake to slick the skin with spit and more precome that was leaking from his slit, but quickly he moved to encircling the head and drawing it into his mouth.

“Aah,  _ fuck…  _ Satori,” he moaned heavily, hands gripping Tendou’s shoulders tighter when he took more of his cock in and sucked hard on every up stroke. Tendou let one hand hold Semi by the hip, the other working against the length he had yet to fit in his mouth. 

Glancing up to see Semi’s face was priceless, coffee coloured irises hidden behind half lidded eyes, mouth agape and drawing in shuddering breaths continuously as he watched Tendou suck him off, every perfect bob of his head sending electricity down his spine, drawing him to the edge more and more. Tendou’s own cock ached in his pants, begging to be touched and toyed with. The thought of Semi returning the favour was enough to have him taking more of the cock that lay heavy on his tongue, and humming a moan around it.

With his hand releasing the length he’d been stroking, Tendou bobbed his head lower, reveling in the pleased groan above him and the slight tremble of his body, he took the last of Semi’s length in his mouth, letting the head hit the back of his throat easily, and swallowing around it. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed by how well he was managing to suppress his gag reflex, being able to hold out for longer than he imagined, swallowing thickly a few times, before coming back up for air and pulling off completely with a wet pop, his eyes beginning to sting ever so slightly. Semi was panting above him, thighs trembling and cock twitching in front of Tendou’s face. 

With a sly grin, Tendou opened his mouth wide, but stayed unmoving where he sat. When Semi noticed he’d stopped, he opened eyes he didn’t remember closing, and looked down through thick lashes at his boyfriend. He bit his lip harder seeing his boyfriend waiting for him, his own cock lying straight before Tendou, eyes eager, lips red and swollen, and his bare chest heaving, but simply  _ waiting.  _

Semi knew what he was waiting for, and breathed out heavily, a short chuckle following. He cupped his face, thumbs rubbing over heated, flushed skin, and guided his way back into Tendou’s awaiting mouth. “Shit Satori...  _ christ,” _ he gasped as the other snapped his mouth closed, enveloping him with a desireable wet heat, sucking hard every time Semi pulled back, allowing him to fuck his face as he liked. Semi’s fingers buried themselves in thick red locks, and gripped hard at the roots, dishevelling the curling strands even more than before.

Semi could feel himself approaching his limit, every nerve in his body set alight and in tune to his senses. It was too much, bordering on overwhelming, as he watched the man he loved continue to deepthroat him at his will, the wet slurping sounds ricocheting off the walls, and of course, the slippery warmth that was Tendou’s mouth around his throbbing cock. Never in his right mind did he want to let the warmth of his mouth go. He wanted to come so badly, ached for it, and it’d be all too easy to just come down Tendou’s throat, cock buried deep in his mouth, maybe even pull out and paint his boyfriend’s face and hair in rivulets of his come. But no, he needed more. 

“Oh God, Satori- Sator- stop, stop!” 

Semi reeled back, legs bumping the bed and causing him to fall back against it, Tendou was standing in a instant, face pale and expression worried.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay? Was it me, did I hurt you? Was it my teeth? I’m so sorry!” Tendou babbled and Semi couldn’t help the affection that tingled in his chest, the smile that rose on his lips.

“Nothing’s wrong, don’t worry. I was just gonna come, but I don’t want to that soon.” He sat up on his elbows, watching Tendou’s concerned expression melt into relief. “Damn, you’re good though.  _ Really _ good.”

“I’m a man of many talents, my dear Eita.” Tendou cooed, slipping onto the bed beside him. “Even if I did only just find out,” he chuckled. 

He settled by Semi on the edge of the bed, his hand running soothingly over the other’s thigh, feeling hard muscles underneath the skin. “So, what now?”

“Uhm, well,” Semi’s flush grew darker, and suddenly feeling embarrassed he turned his gaze away. “I want you to fuck me. So I guess we should, you know…” he trailed off. Leaving Tendou at the foot of the bed, Semi climbed up higher to reach his nightstand, and went straight for the drawer he kept lube and condoms in. 

Tendou gasped in mock surprise, “Eita! Who knew you could be so lewd.” He drawled the last word playfully. 

Semi didn’t need to see him to know he was probably wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. What a nerd. 

Just as he grabbed what they needed from the drawer, Semi felt the bed dip directly behind him, and soon Tendou’s hands found his hips once again. His hands slid upwards, pulling Semi onto his knees and leaning his back against Tendou’s own chest. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s torso then, resting his head against the side of Semi’s. Semi could feel the rough denim against the back of his thighs and was mortifyingly reminded that he was, in fact, the only one naked. He leaned his head back on Tendou’s shoulder, looking up to meet his dopey grin.

“Hey,” Tendou whispered in the silent room.

A smile cracked through his embarrassment. “Hey back.”

“We’re really doing this.”

Semi couldn’t tell whether it was meant as a question or a statement, but replied with his own dopey smile and a simple, “Yeah.”

Tendou strained his neck to kiss Semi. Once, gently on the cheek, and again when Semi turned his face to meet the other’s swollen lips, still ever so soft. Pulling back, Tendou nuzzled against the side of Semi’s head, planting kisses on his ashy hair. “I love you, Eita.” He murmured against the fair stands.

Semi not only felt, but heard his breath catch in his throat, and he knew Tendou did too. God, what was he? Some teenage girl who was finally being confessed to by her crush? 

Well, that wasn’t exactly too far from the truth actually. While yes, they had both essentially confessed and accepted and were currently dating, those three little life altering words had never slipped past their lips. Of course they felt it, knew the other loved them as much as they did too, but hearing them being said for the very first time was beyond world shattering.

“I love you.”

He breathed them with confidence, the words true to his very core. He turned to kiss Tendou again, steady and sweet at first, but he gradually began deepening it with renewed passion. With every pass of Tendou’s lips over his own, he could hear him whispering more 'I love you's, each one making his voice dip an octave. Tendou was practically growling the words before Semi pushed him off with a laugh.

“I love you too, but for the love God and your raging hard on, will you seriously take your pants off already?”

Tendou just snorted at his comment.

“So impatient, Eita~”

“I swear to God, I’ll start without you.”

He’d said it as nothing more than an offhanded, empty threat, but little did Semi know how much it had caught Tendou’s attention. So much so in fact, that Tendou stopped in the middle of undoing his fly, his mouth turning up wickedly at the thought. “Then why don’t you?” He challenged.

“Wait… what?”

“Start without me. Show me how you like it.”

Had he ever heard Tendou sound so cocky, so  _ commanding _ ? Semi honestly wasn’t too sure.

In a matter of seconds, Tendou’s jeans and underwear were lost to the void of the bedroom floor. He settled behind Semi once again, his chest flush against Semi’s back, and hands beginning to wander aimlessly over smooth tawny skin. He spoke directly into Semi’s ear when he knew he had his undivided attention. “I’ll help you, but you have to show me first.” He ran his tongue over the shell of his ear, and Tendou didn’t miss the slight shudder or the hairs that rose over Semi’s skin. 

“How can you say that out loud, oh my God.”

“Because I love you?”  _ Because I want you. _

“You’re so embarrassing, I can’t.” However despite his words, Semi was already reaching for the bottle of lube he’d dropped onto the bed sheets.

Tendou reached for Semi’s thighs, pulling his legs open wider for better access, and watched as his boyfriend slicked his fingers, letting them disappear between his legs. He let Semi relax for a moment, allowing him to just tease and play with his entrance, but then his fingers found Semi’s, joining him with the ministrations. When Semi slipped the first finger in, his head tilted back against Tendou’s shoulder, the latter kissing his temple encouragingly as he felt Semi sink his finger in deeper and deeper.

While Semi began the slow process of opening himself up, Tendou continued to press kisses against his head, his own fingers just teasing at Semi’s rim ever so slightly. Semi relaxed against Tendou, his left hand gripping the other’s slim thigh that was braced against the outside of his own. He moaned softly as Tendou just barely slipped the tip of his finger into him, whenever Semi would drag his finger out for another thrust. 

Semi was used to this, used to his own fingers teasing himself, used to fucking himself open and fingers being buried deep inside. But now he craved more, and with his boyfriend pressed up behind him, fingers teasing him, cock hard and pressing against the base of his spine, it was all beginning to drive him into a lust fueled insanity.

“Satori, I need more.” He said, voice sounding just short of a whine.

“Why don’t you try another finger then?”

Tendou began to remove his hand, until Semi’s own held it in place. “No,” he ground out. “I need you.”

“Hmm,” he purred against Semi’s neck in feigned contemplation, leaving open mouthed kisses in the places he knew the other loved. He splayed his hand over Semi’s, fingers fillings the gaps between Semi's own, before guiding one of each of their fingers inside.

It was only two fingers, but Semi already felt full, mind numbing the slight sting that came with it, relaxing to the way Tendou rubbed their fingers against his inner walls. He was panting, breath coming out in little stutters as their fingers worked him open further. After a few minutes Semi could sink down against them easily, working his hips and fucking himself harder as his boyfriend whispered words of praise into his hair.

"Think you can handle more?"

"Of course." Semi assures around the grip his teeth have on his bottom lip. "Just you though. I need  _ you _ ." He repeats.

Tendou goes without another impish remark, instead opting for slowly, painfully slowly, dragging their fingers from Semi's tight heat, purposely curling and running over his prostate teasingly. By the time Semi finishes his shuddering moan, Tendou is already opening him up with three of his own digits, sinking down to his knuckles as Semi's hands grasp at Tendou's thighs.

"Like this?" He purrs into Semi's ear, beginning to pump his fingers into him, just barely nudging against his sweet spot again. There's a throaty moan resounding in the room, ripped from Semi's throat as he leans more heavily into Tendou, head lolling back on his shoulder.

"Fuck, yes,  _ just like that _ ,"

With his free hand, Tendou takes Semi's and brings it to his cock, wrapping his fingers around both his hand and throbbing length, and slowly running a tentative stroke up his leaking cock. "Show me how you like it, Eita." He can feel Semi's grip tighten under his palm, stroking himself harder, his wrist twisting at the tip on every upwards stroke.

Semi doesn’t hesitate to take control and set the pace. It’s his own body and he knows better than anyone what he likes, all the little things and ways to get himself off. And well, not that he’d ever admit it, but the way that Tendou handles his body, the lustful smirk that has the corners of his mouth turning up, and his complete and utter confidence, leaves a burning, lasting impression on Semi, only turning him on more. Thinking about it forces his hand faster, his grip tighter, and Tendou doesn’t hesitate to keep up, fingers fucking into him at the same gruelling pace. 

It’s unintentional on Tendou’s part, a small buck of his hips against Semi’s ass, but the weight of it knocks a reminder into the other; Tendou’s still hard, still desperately waiting for any kind of attention or friction. At the sudden realisation Semi releases his hand around his own cock, leaving Tendou’s there unaccompanied, but quickly he shuffles forward slightly, leaving just enough space between them so he can slip a hand around his back and take hold of Tendou’s neglected and ignored cock. It’s hard and heavy in his palm, wet from the amounting precome that slid from the tip and smeared over the length and Semi’s ass. 

Semi rolls his head to the side, mouths at Tendou’s jaw roughly, leaving kiss after kiss. “Don’t stop.”

He gives a few slow pumps of Tendou’s length, concludes that the angle is definitely awkward but still manageable. 

Tendou’s slowed his pace down to match Semi’s, but it’s not long before they’re picking it up again. Semi’s fingers feel even better than he’d imagined on his cock, long and slim and unearthly beautiful despite the callouses on his fingertips. When he thumbs teasingly at his slit, a long shudder and moan fill the air, and a chorus of “Eita,” are sighed into the heavy fog of devotion and yearning.  

He can tell that Semi’s drawing closer to the edge of his impending orgasm, legs growing unstable and twitching, his free hand twisting behind himself and latching itself in Tendou’s hair roughly as if holding on for dear life, muscles in his bicep pulled beautifully taut. So Tendou fucks him faster, fingers aiming for his prostate repeatedly and hand pumping his leaking cock. 

“Fuck-  _ fuck _ , Satori, Sator- Sa-”

There’s gasp after gasp coming from Semi, a name of broken syllables and endless profanity, but Tendou eats it all up, revels in it, and when Semi’s body tenses in front of him, he crashes their mouths together, kissing him harshly, all teeth and tongue, biting down on Semi’s plump lip and swallowing the moans that resonate in the room when he comes in Tendou’s grasp. 

Semi tries to slump forward, he feels boneless and he’s pretty sure his legs are still shaking, but Tendou’s arm catches him, holds him steady while he reaches for something,  _ anything,  _ he can use to wipe up the mess of cum he caught in his hand, he finds nothing, tissues too far away on Semi’s desk and clothes scattered God knows where on the floor. He ends up opting for wiping it clean on the end of the duvet cover. It’s fine right? They can just change the sheets later, besides, he has much more important things to do right now. 

With a groan from his sated boyfriend, Tendou carefully lowers Semi to the bed, laughing when he sinks face first into a pillow, arms splayed above him. Tendou lays down beside him, laying on his side and running a hand over Semi’s back soothingly, all he can see is ashy hair and a red tipped ear stuffed into the pillow. 

It’s quiet for a few moments and Tendou waits patiently, continuously massaging and rubbing over Semi’s back and the tops of his thighs until Semi regains enough control over comprehensible speech, or enough to mumbled out a crude, “I’m dead. You’ve killed me,” from the pillow.

Tendou doesn’t hide his chortle, instead, he nudges Semi’s head to the side, so he can see his face, eyes close, lips bitten and bruised, and still with a heavy flush. When Semi knows he’s being stared at, he cracks open his eyes and asks, “Where the hell did you learn how to do that?” around deep breaths. 

There’s a genuine smile on Tendou’s face - it’s a rarity when there  _ isn’t,  _ honestly - it’s warm and inviting and all Semi wants to do is kiss him some more. It’s almost as if Tendou can read his mind because then he’s shuffling closer, gently placing a kiss to Semi’s lips, nose, cheek, anywhere he can reach. 

“That was all you.” Is what he gives as an answer. 

“I never thought I was that sensitive.” 

Whether it’s a statement meant for himself or just a passing thought from Semi’s mind, Tendou isn’t sure. What he does know however, is that he’s still painfully hard. 

“You want me to do it again?”

Semi balks, “No! Wait- I mean- yes- just, give me a minute okay?” He hides his face back in the pillow out of pure fluster. 

As Tendou replaces the hand on Semi’s back with his lips, leaving a dozen and then some kisses along the curve of his spine, he can’t help but think how adorable his Eita is.

It takes a few minutes, but slowly Semi is warming up to him again, content and welcoming noises slipping past his lips with every kiss and stroke over his body. When he props himself up on his forearms, Tendou snakes his hands under his chest, fingertips trailing over his pecs until they find Semi’s nipples, already stiff and just waiting to be toyed with again, if only a little. When Tendou rolls them between his fingers, Semi’s mouth falls open with a silent gasp, he’s still so sensitive, but when the other’s fingers pinch harder he can’t stop his back from arching. Tendou continues to slowly tease the aching peaks, but moves some of his attention to Semi’s neck, the skin already slightly mottled from earlier, but he decides that those red-purple bruises look spectacular on his perfect tawny skin. He doesn’t stop himself from leaving more, letting his teeth brush over the junction of his neck and shoulder, and biting down until the skin gives way and he can feel his teeth making indents. 

There’s a whimper below him, and Semi arches his back more, but doesn’t pull away, Tendou laves his tongue over the forming bite mark regardless, kissing it gently and moving on to another spot. It turns into a pattern, and Tendou can only assume Semi is maybe a little bit of a masochist with how he moans and shudders when Tendou pinches his nipples and bites him at the same time. 

Semi only pulls away when he’s panting beyond belief. He rolls flat on his back and reaches to pull Tendou’s face to his own, kissing him shamelessly sloppy and eager. “Okay, c’mon I can’t wait anymore.” He says once they part, their lips kissed red and wet. Tendou nods, momentarily breathless, but slides between Semi’s legs easily. “How do you want to do this?” 

“Like this is good, great even.” Tendou says after a beat of regaining his breath.

“You sure?”

“Eita, I didn’t wait two months to not see your face while I fuck you.” He’s serious. There’s no joke, no lighthearted playfulness in Tendou’s tone. He love’s Semi, has for so long, and he truly wants this, needs it.

Semi should feel embarrassed, should want to shy away at his boyfriend’s pure honesty, but Tendou’s dominating tone, his pupils that are blown wide, that make his eyes darker and utterly sultry, it all just makes Semi want him even more. He wants it too, needs this just as badly as Tendou does. 

“Okay.” He says with resolve, grabbing for the previously discarded lube and throwing the bottle to Tendou, watching with heightened interest as his boyfriend tears open a foil packet with his teeth. The sight has Semi gnawing at his bottom lip again, his cock twitching in anticipation as Tendou rolls the condom over his own and slicks it with lube. 

“Ready?” Tendou asks. He’s pulling Semi closer by his thighs, lifting his ass and lower back from the mattress below and resting them on Tendou’s thighs, until the head of his cock nudges against his entrance. 

There’s a slight flare of nervousness returning, but Semi gulps down a breath and wills it away. He wants this. He nods his head and breathes out a “Yeah,” with finality. 

Tendou grits his teeth as he surges forward, pushing into the searing heat with one smooth thrust. It’s so hot, and so unbelievably tight that again, Tendou finds himself momentarily breathless. He can feel Semi clamping against him when he’s fully seated, hands grabbing at the bedsheets while Tendou allows him to adjust. 

For all Semi’s bravado and patience waiting for this moment, the nights he spent with fingers buried in his ass and bringing himself to mediocre orgasm, nothing could have really prepared him for the real thing here and now. Tendou slides out carefully, a tentative thrust that’s eased by the lube and the thorough finger fucking of the last who knows how long. The experience is wholly different, amazingly so, and with another few careful thrusts, it seems Tendou’s found a rhythm to set them up with. Through his own moaning, Semi can hear the slap of skin against skin, the gasps that leave Tendou, and the husky, “ _ Chris _ t Eita, you’re so- you’re so tight.”

Tendou is torn between wanting to be gentle and loving - it is their first time after all - and wanting to fuck the beautiful man beneath him into the mattress, to have Semi wailing his name wantonly and with abandon. He decides gentle is good for the moment, better to be safe than sorry, and the last thing he wants to do is  hurt the love of his life. His thrusts are smooth but shallow, and he picks up the pace slightly, chasing the beginnings of the pleasure that’s coiling low in his gut, and with the moan that filters into his ears, he’s sure Semi is too. 

They stay at that pace for a while, it’s nice, sweet, almost more ‘making love’ than fucking, and given the right atmosphere it’d be perfect, but Semi can’t help but grow a little frustrated, it feels good, but it’s not enough, despite what his whimpers say. 

“Satori,” he calls, bringing his hand to the other’s face and pushing the stray strands of hair sticking to his forehead behind his ear. Tendou’s hair is almost all deflated now, his usual mountain of spikes even further flattened than how much they were when Semi first saw him that evening. It’s a rare sight to see Tendou with his hair down and Semi loves it, thinks his natural waves are just as beautiful as his usual style. 

At the call of his name, Tendou meets Semi’s eyes, their deep brown depths seeming endless in the limited light in the room. “Please, I need it harder… Faster…” Semi pleads. 

“Are you sure?” Tendou’s thrusts faltered for a moment. 

There was a flash of something in Semi’s eyes, something Tendou only saw whenever a fuse snapped in him, and he couldn’t help but gulp around the lump of fear rising in his throat. 

“Tendou fucking Satori, I am not  _ asking  _ you to fuck me harder. No, I’m  _ telling  _ you too. Got that?”

Despite the threatening tone, Tendou knew there was no malice behind his words, and honestly, the use of his full name was kind of amusing. 

Never one to deny Semi what he wanted, Tendou snapped his hips forward with enough force to send Semi’s body reeling against the bed, he did it again for good measure, just to hear the sweet gasp that ripped out of Semi’s lungs. 

“Yeah, yeah, just like that,” Tendou did it again, and a dry chuckle filled the room. “ _God,_ _yes_.” He cried out in bliss. “What? You didn’t think I was some BL protagonist made of glass who can’t handle this, did you?” Semi teased, and even Tendou found himself laughing, all the while plowing into him faster, turning Semi’s laugh to an obscene, drawn out moan.

“N-no! Shut up!” He panted.

“Make me.” Semi breathlessly challenged, a mere ploy to earn harder, deeper thrusts. 

And it worked, Tendou lifted Semi’s legs higher and over his shoulders, spreading him open even wider and fucking him from a whole new angle, every thrust hitting against that sweet bundle of nerves that would no doubt drive Semi over the edge soon enough. 

Semi’s moans are the perfect backing track to Tendou’s inner monologue, thoughts running through his mind at an alarming rate. He could spend the rest of his life just like this, in this very moment, staring down at the gorgeous dark flush over every inch of equally gorgeous dark skin, seeing the hazy pleasure in Semi’s eyes, fucking into him as rough and deep as he can, just filling him with his cock as much as humanly possible, and honestly, just making Semi look like every pinnacle of pure perfection and fantasy that he’s ever had for the last few years. It’s overwhelming, but Christ, does he love him. Loves Semi with every fiber of his being, loves being with him, around him, in him. The thoughts leave Tendou’s head spinning and maybe a little light headed, but he doesn’t dare to stop. Instead he fucks Semi through it, muffling a heady groan in the leg thrown over his shoulder and slides impossibly deep into his tight heat.

He almost has Semi folded completely in half as he fucks him, he looks completely out of it, too far gone and far from any snappy comments like he had made just shortly before. Those deep coffee coloured eyes completely glazed over but still staring at Tendou intensely, ashy hair sticking to his sweat slicked skin, and mouth hanging open, gasping for much needed air between keening moans and garbled words slurring together. Tendou is certain it’s his name he can make out with the hissed ‘ _ sah _ ’ syllable repeating over and over. 

He’s close, knows Semi has to be too. 

“Seeing you like this, you’re so beautiful, Eita.” Tendou somehow manages to speak coherently through his fast approaching orgasm. “I really couldn’t stop thinking about this, about you.” He snaps his hips, punctuating every word with a sharp thrust, purposely hitting Semi’s prostrate. With a weak moan below him, Tendou reaches between them and palms Semi’s neglected cock that’s been leaking precome profusly, and twitches with the slightest grip of his hand. Tendou matches his strokes with the merciless pace of his hips hitting Semi’s ass, loud and lewd and utterly perfect. Semi can’t last with the abuse his body is submitting to and he comes, head thrown back against a pillow and a loud sob ripped from his core. His back arches like a bow, muscles tense and aching, as cum hits his chest and the underside of his chin. He’s done, completely worn out, but Tendou grits his teeth and fucks him through his orgasm until Semi is shivering with overstimulation and clenching hard around his cock. 

That’s all he needs before he’s pushed over the edge of his own climax, hips stilling and cock buried deep within Semi. Tendou falls forward, bracing all his weight on his forearms and caging Semi in as he spills into the condom. 

After a few moments, mainly so he could regain the strength to breathe, Tendou pushes himself back up, and as carefully as he can, slides out of Semi, tying the condom and not so inconspicuously dropping it over the edge of the bed. He can deal with that later. 

Semi was still quiet, and Tendou may have thought he’d fallen asleep apart from the heavy rise and fall of his chest. He slumps onto Semi’s chest, uncaring about the mess that lays splattered across it. 

“You dead?”

“Yeah,” Semi nods, his eyes slowly peeling open. “I feel so fucking gross right now,” he breathes. “But there is literally no chance I can stand up right now for a shower.” 

“You’re welcome~” Tendou says in singsong, easily avoiding the lazy swat of Semi’s hand. “I’ll clean you up in a sec, okay?”

“Yeah, sure, but soon please. It’s pretty late and I’m getting pretty sleepy,” he barely manages to finish his sentence before he yawns. 

Tendou nestles against Semi for a while longer, enjoying the lazy stroke of the hand through his hair, the way Semi runs his fingers over his scalp the way only Semi knows he loves. Before it get too late and they definitely fell asleep like that, Tendou peels himself away and leaves to grab a damp towel, discarding the condom along the way before Semi could scold him for it. When he returns Semi was exactly how he left him, bleary eyes staring at the ceiling and trying his hardest not to fall asleep. Tendou makes the clean up quick but thorough, already feeling a desperate wave of exhaustion overtaking him, he’d been running on pure adrenaline and excitement for two days straight, only managing to sleep on the plane back home.

When he eventually got into bed, Semi was curled against him instantly, before he’d even pulled the covers over them. “You’re always so warm,” he mumbled into Tendou’s chest as the latter wrapped an arm around him, pulling his closer. 

“What am I, your personal heater?” 

“Mhm,” Semi sounded so close to the edge of sleep.

“Really now, what are you gonna do when I have to sleep in my own bed, huh Eita?”

Semi was silent for a moment and Tendou thought he may not even reply to his teasing, but he did, and the answer wasn’t exactly what Tendou was expecting. 

“No one said you actually have to sleep in your room. ‘Can stay here if you want.”

He smiled against Semi’s hair, hiding the faintest blush that was creeping over his cheeks at the thought of spending every night curled next to Semi in his bed. Truthfully, as a couple they still had some things to work out, and they had so much lost time to make up for, but right now, things felt natural and comfortable, as if they’d been this close for years, and in a way they had been. This was just one more extension of their friendship, one that could only grow further. 

Tendou wrapped his arms tighter around Semi, holding him close until no space separated them. “I love you,” he whispered into the darkness of the bedroom. 

Surprised when he heard a muttered, “Love you too, Satori. Now go to sleep.” 

Tendou smiled into Semi’s hair again, his signature eye crinkling, million watt smile. He was unbelievably happy. This was his new life, his new home, and it would be nothing without his Eita. 

 

* * *

 

When morning came and Semi awoke, he fully expected to be wrapped in a tangle of bed sheets and gangly, lanky limbs, but as he rolled over and pawed at the empty,  _ cold  _ space that definitely should have been occupied, his eyes shot open. In his still sleep addled mind, sudden thoughts of ‘ _ was it all just an elaborate dream? Am I so desperate to see him again that I imagined the whole thing? But it had felt so real, _ ’ and well, the numb pain in his lower back definitely  _ felt  _ real.

With slow, careful movements Semi eased himself into a sitting position and surveyed his room. He was alone, that much was for sure, but yesterday’s discarded clothing was missing from where they landed on the floor, and his bedroom door firmly shut. 

After a few minutes of aimlessly waiting on nothing in particular, Semi rubbed the sleep from his eyes and ran a hand roughly through his mangled hair. He felt both grimy and gross, and his body begged for a shower ASAP, but more than anything, he needed coffee first, he was never truly awake before he had his morning coffee. 

Semi grabbed a pair of shorts from his nearby desk chair, opting for at least  _ some _ modesty upon realising that yes, his bout of sleep induced anxiety was exactly just that, and he did in fact, have a new roommate. Wherever he currently may be. 

Before Semi could even really ponder Tendou’s whereabouts, his door creaked open with a rattle, and the latter slipped inside with a tray. 

“Ah, you’re awake! That’s good, good. I made you-”

“Breakfast?” Semi finished for him. “You made me breakfast?”

Tendou stuck his chest out with pride, smile lifting higher as he gestured back to Semi’s unmade bed. “You betcha! Now c’mon, sit! Eat!”

Incredulously, Semi sat back on his bed and watched Tendou place the food between them, before he sat cross legged opposite him. Semi never knew Tendou could cook? After years together it was something he never thought important enough to share with Semi, but the sight of perfectly golden pancakes topped with whipped cream, syrup and a mountain of fresh fruit definitely conveyed the talent. It looked like something from a five star restaurant’s breakfast menu. 

“You made these?” He asked, hands reaching straight for the coffee mug filled with liquid black poison, just the way Tendou knew he liked it.

Tendou hummed in response. “Completely from scratch! I remembered how much you loved the Western style breakfasts they introduced at the end of our second year.”

Affection and fondness clouded Semi’s core in the best way possible. “What don’t you remember, huh?” 

It was a rhetorical question and Tendou knew that, so he just gazed onwards with a buzzing eagerness as Semi lifted the mug to his lips, blew gently on the coffee and took a tentative sip. There was silence for a moment, Semi frozen in place but his eyes bugging wildly, until he whispered.

“Oh my god.” Another sip, and then louder, “Oh my god!”

“It’s good, right?” Tendou sounded elated.

Taking another mouthful of coffee, Semi nodded. “What the hell is this? Fucking liquid of the Gods?”

“A special European roast! Just. For. You~” he sang back. 

“Is that hazelnut too?”

“Yes it is, my dear Eita. A teaspoon of Nutella mixed in really brings out the flavours, especially since you like your coffee black.” 

That prideful look was back on Tendou’s face, and Semi loved it, loved it almost as much as he loved the coffee held in his hands. 

“This is seriously amazing, you know that?” 

 

After gulping down half of his drink, and ignoring the slight burn on his tongue, Semi moved onto the pancakes, which were at least a trillion times better than the leftover Chinese food he thought he’d be having. 

“I didn’t even think we had ingredients for these. And I  _ know  _ we didn’t have any of these.” He skewered a slice of strawberry and a blueberry before popping them in his mouth. 

“We didn’t, I picked them up on the way back from my run.”

“You went running?”

“Mhm, I wanted to explore the neighbourhood and then some.”

“Find anywhere good?” 

Semi admittedly hadn’t put too much effort into exploring the area, he just put the store he needed and location into Google and went with the first result.

“Yeah! There’s a lotta small family owned stores and markets, like the one where I picked up the fruit! The old lady running it was really nice, she gave me a whole half pound extra! Though I think she was trying to set me up with her granddaughter… So uh, come with me next time, yeah?” Semi snorted at his misfortune but of course agreed. “And there’s this great little coffee shop turned bookstore, it’s pretty cool but not in a hipstery way! And they have  _ so much  _ manga that I may have gotten distracted on my run, and did I mention I may have applied to work there? Oh! And there’s this arcade that’s practically hidden on Main Street! I didn’t go in but it takes up like, I don’t know, the top two floors of the complex. We should go!” 

Semi listened intently to his boyfriend as he explained all the nooks and crannies of their new neighbourhood, bouncing in his seat and relaying his favourite spots excitedly. He had just finished his pancakes when Tendou stopped talking, and Semi looked up in time to have Tendou’s thumb rub over the corner of his lips, wiping off a stray bit of whipped cream. He’d expected Tendou to wipe his finger off on a nearby napkin, but instead he watched fixedly as the digit came to his mouth and a pink tongue licked it away.  

Tendou cocked his head to the side when he found Semi staring. “What?” he asked.

“N-nothing. That was just… really hot, is all.” He could feel his face heating up and Semi promptly turned his head away. “I- I’m gonna go take a shower, yeah!” 

Tendou just snorted, followed by a full body laugh as Semi bolted from his room. He was halfway to the bathroom when he realised he’d forgotten something before returning sheepishly to the shaking man perched on his bed. 

“Thank you for breakfast.” He said, leaning forward to press a kiss to Tendou’s cheek. Tendou caught him by the wrist before Semi could pull away, and instead kissed his lips slowly, once, twice for good measure. 

“Anytime,” he murmured against against Semi’s lips.

He tasted like strong coffee and sweetened pancakes. 

 

One lengthy shower later and Semi was rejoining the rest of the world for a tortuously hot afternoon. Even Tendou, who for the majority of the summer had spent his days in the sweltering sun on vacation, wasn’t faring any better. Semi had walked into his room, towel wrapped low on his hips, and found his boyfriend lounging in the middle of his bed in nothing more than loose shorts and an open hoodie. Not a bad sight if he was being honest. 

“Still reading Shonen Jump then?”

Tendou lifted his head from the magazine and frowned at Semi, “Hey, don’t knock it till you try it!” 

“How did you ever survive these last few months without it?” Sarcasm, that was definitely sarcasm. 

Nonetheless, Tendou wailed a loud, “I don’t know! I could only manage to get this week’s copy this morning, I’m gonna have to back order the rest online!” 

As he pulled fresh underwear on, Semi smirked - not that the other could see with how his back was turned to Tendou - and said, “No, you won’t. Try the box under your desk.”

“Eita, you didn’t!” But Tendou had already shot from the bed and out of the room before he could reply. 

Muffled through the apartment’s walls Semi could hear the delighted groan of a man far too obsessed with Shonen Jump. Before long, Tendou padded back into Semi’s room, arms full of the thick magazines. “You must love me a lot to collect these for me while I was away.” The smile on Tendou’s face was all teeth, and all dazzling.

“Shut up,” Semi pretended to be distracted with something on his phone. 

“Admit it, Eita. You love me~” Tendou sang.

“Yeah, okay! Of course I love you.”

“Knew it.” He teased. “Do you mind if I read them here..?”

“Only if they’re going to keep you quiet.” Semi bantered back, his smirk returning in full force.

 

When Semi returned to his room, laptop and snacks in tow, Tendou was already settled back against the bed’s headboard, eyes scanning and reading over the pages and paying no mind to his boyfriend, until he was pressed up beside him. It was way too hot for them to be sitting this close, but neither dared to move. Tendou slouched low beside Semi, placing featherlight kisses to his shoulder and bare arm. “Thanks,” was all he murmured into his skin, the word expressing more than just his gratitude for hoarding a few magazines for him. 

It was a thank you for always accepting him, loving him unconditionally as a friend and now as something more. For spending time together just like right then, both of them focused on different things, but still enjoying the company of the other person. A reminder that they’d always be there. 

“You’re more than welcome.” Semi said with finality, nudging his head against Tendou’s lowered one. 

There was a few moments of companionable silence, both men caught up in their respective activities, and then, “Satori?” Semi spoke up.

Tendou turned his head to face Semi, “Yeah?” he prompted. 

“Do you want to head into the city this weekend? Waka has a practise match in the afternoon, and I’m pretty sure Hayato and  Reon are gonna go watch if you’d like to, too.”

At the mention of their friends, Tendou’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! Yeah, let’s go!” 

Semi knew Tendou so well. Well enough to know that even though he hadn’t said it, it was obvious Tendou had missed their friends while he had been away. And while their friends and kouhai had been teammates, they had also been like family to him, that fact had only cemented itself in during their final year. 

“Oh hey! You know if we use my room as a guest room sometimes, we can totally have people stay over! It can be like training camp, except not really, but you know what I mean!” 

“Good idea, plus the living room can fit at least two futons, and there’s the couch.”

 

As talking turned to making plans, ones that had them texting their friends to see if they’d like to stay over now that Tendou was home, both Semi’s laptop and the bundle of Shonen Jump soon went forgotten, in favour of long limbs tangling together on a sweltering summer afternoon.

Tendou definitely felt like he was home, one hundred and twenty percent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so it took me a little while, but here we are at the end of my piece for tensemi week! honestly this pairing is one of my favourites and i'm sorry i couldn't do them more justice, but i like how this came out regardless! thank you for reading and all the kudos/comments, i appreciate every single one! ❤  
> as always you can find me [@von-bats](http://von-bats.tumblr.com/) on tumblr, or [@shiratori_what](https://twitter.com/shiratori_what) on twitter!  
> I'm also looking for new hq and shiratorizawa blogs to follow, so go to [this post](http://von-bats.tumblr.com/post/158027600172/so-i-unfollowed-like-200-blogs-last-night-and-im) if you wanna be rad mutuals and scream about gay volleyball boys together


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